Thruway Authority cuts more workers

About a half-dozen non-union staff were quietly laid off

By Rick Karlin

Published 10:13 pm, Monday, September 30, 2013

Albany

The state Thruway Authority last week quietly laid off about a half-dozen non-union employees. Saying it was a personnel matter, Thruway spokesman Dan Weiller declined comment on the precise nature of the job cuts or the reason, but the move came as the federal government has told New York that they'll only lend the state about 33 percent of the nearly $4 billion cost of a new Tappan Zee Bridge, as opposed to the 49 percent that Gov. Andrew Cuomo had been hoping for.

The cuts also come five months after the Thruway Authority issued layoff notices to more than 200 unionized workers including Teamsters and members of the Civil Service Employees Association.

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The layoffs, announced at the start of the year, came after the Thruway abandoned an earlier plan to raise truck tolls by 45 percent in order to balance their books. That increase was dropped amid an outcry about the economic impact of such an increase.

One of the affected unions, CSEA, in August sued the Thruway in federal court, contending the initial round of layoffs violated the Constitution since they applied only to union members.

A consortium of public sector unions in Connecticut recently won a suit in federal court, claiming that layoffs aimed solely at union members there violated the First Amendment right of free association.

The Thruway Authority has in the past been controversial among public sector workers — both unionized and management employees historically earned more than their counterparts among other state entities.

With less of a federal loan, the Authority will have to borrow more money at a comparatively higher rate. Initial figures estimated the cost of the new Tappan Zee Bridge could cause tolls to go up from their current $5 level to $14, which Cuomo has said would be too high.